Voting for the Pro Football Hall of Fame is an incredible honor and an enormous responsibility. I'm privileged to be part of the 44-member Selection Committee and the nine-member Seniors Committee.

I believe committee members should welcome constructive criticism, and I believe the Hall of Fame should always be open-minded about ways to improve the process.

Determining who the 15 finalists will be each year — as well as the two senior nominees - is a year-round process that culminates with our annual meeting the day before the Super Bowl. This year's meeting lasted almost 7½ hours.

Quite often, our credentials are called into question. In other words, how were we selected to the committee?

I subbed at the annual meeting a few times for former Chronicle columnist Mickey Herskowitz, who represented Houston for a couple of decades. When Mickey retired, the Hall of Fame invited me to replace him in 1996.

I want to know what coaches and coordinators who watched film and players who lined up across from them think about candidates for the Hall of Fame.

Each year, we get an initial list of those who are eligible. I believe it was more than 130 last year. Members of the committee talk at games. We talk on the phone. We e-mail and text and tweet.

We reduce the list to 25. Then we have the discussions all over again. Finally, we have our list of finalists - 15 plus the two senior nominees. At that point in the process, I believe every candidate is worthy of induction. Unfortunately, we can take a maximum of only seven.

Author casts his vote

Dent and Sabol created the biggest controversy. I have voted for Dent for years. During a 10-year period (1984-93), Dent averaged 12 sacks per season. The Bears were 118-63 during that stretch, and he was a Super Bowl MVP. According to footballoutsiders.com, Dent ranks second in sacks per start (0.92) behind only Fred Dean (1.14) among ends and ahead of Reggie White (0.87) and Bruce Smith (0.75).

Dent had eight seasons with double-digit sacks. Only White and Smith have more.

During that 10-year period, the Bears allowed only 98 yards rushing per game, fewest in the league.

Check out Dent, a defensive end, compared to his former teammate, middle linebacker Mike Singletary, also a member of the Hall of Fame. Dent forced 33 fumbles to Singletary's 14. Dent intercepted eight passes to Singletary's seven. Dent defended 58 passes to Singletary's 51.

As for Sabol, he founded NFL Films and had a profound impact on the league. No one can deny his influence.

Also, I voted for Sanders on the first ballot because he was as good a cover corner as there has ever been. I voted for Faulk on the first ballot because he was the best combination runner-receiver out of the backfield I've seen and a three-time offensive player of the year, Super Bowl winner and the first player to tally 2,000 yards from scrimmage four times. Only three Hall of Fame backs scored more touchdowns.

When Sharpe retired, he had more catches, yards and touchdowns than any tight end in history. He also played a significant role on three Super Bowl winners. What more can you ask of a player who had dominated his position like no other when he retired?

If you want to know why I didn't vote for the other finalists, please check out my blog on chron.com.